FEDERAL JUDGE RULES IN FAVOR OF SPEED CAMERAS

A federal judge has ruled in favor of the use of traffic cameras in Iowa.

Judge Charles Wolle dismissed a lawsuit by seven Iowa residents who claimed the city of Des Moines violated their constitutional rights by operating an automated speed detection camera on Interstate 235.

Judge Wolle says in an order filed Friday that previous rulings by the Iowa Supreme Court and another federal judge in Cedar Rapids establish the camera’s legality.

He concludes that claims made in the lawsuit – that the cameras violate constitutional due process and equal protection rights and the right to freely travel through Des Moines – are without legal merit.

Gatso, the company which operates the camera, was also named in the lawsuit.